“ Oktoberfest to me was the first one that set the standard where we really kept everything as authentic as we could,” Wyatt said.“ When you set that standard, all of the other ships rise with the tide.”
The growth of the springtime Strawberry Festival has arguably been even more dramatic than Oktoberfest. What began in the early 1900’ s as a semi-formal celebration of one of the county’ s most prominent crops has in just a few short years, become a regional, multi-day celebration packed with food, music and the arts. CPRST began assisting with the festival after its success with Oktoberfest and elevated the production, booking national musical acts such as Eve 6, The Gin Blossoms and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
In 2024, Gov. Kay Ivey designated the event as the statewide Alabama Strawberry Festival, and more than 60,000 people from 20 + states attended the 2025 festival.
Perhaps the most drastic addition to the local festival lineup, though, has been the traditional German Christkindlmarkt, which transforms downtown Cullman into a winter wonderland each December. Wyatt said the 2025 festival filled roughly nine acres in and around Depot Park with vendors, stages, rides and a fully functional ice skating rink for the entire month of December... a far cry from the handful of vendors making up the market at the nearby Cullman Festhalle just a few short years ago. More than 410,000 guests from every state and eight different countries visited the market last year.
Wyatt said the festivals have become about as big as space will allow. Instead, moving forward, he said that he would like to focus on some of the smaller things and begin refining many of the details that have gained the lineup its current popularity.
“ The vision is to keep bringing festivals like we’ ve been doing, which keeps people coming back every year,” Wyatt said.“ Our vision is to keep growing the events in a way that keeps the heritage of what Cullman is and the traditions of what we’ ve had, and expose that to new people. My biggest thing is I want people to come in here and make a memory. Whether that means we’ re your Christmas card next year, or you take a photo that children see and remember something. I want everybody to come in and take away something that they’ ve never seen before, and to entertain people in a family-oriented way. I’ ve been to hundreds, if not thousands, of festivals in radio. I’ m here because Cullman truly does something that nobody I’ ve seen does.”
Daniel Wyatt at Depot Park with the Weihnachtspyramide in the background.
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